Széchenyi lánchíd or Széchenyi Chain Bridge is a suspension bridge that spans the River Danube between Buda and Pest, the western and eastern sides of Budapest, the capital of Hungary. It was the first permanent bridge across the Danube in Budapest, and was opened in 1849.
Its two ends are:
Roosevelt Square (with the Gresham Palace and the Hungarian Academy of Sciences), and Adam Clark Square (the Zero Kilometre Stone and the lower end of the Castle Hill Funicular, leading to Buda Castle).
The bridge is named after István Széchenyi, a major supporter of its construction. At the time of its construction, it counted as a wonder of the world. It had an enormous significance in the country's economics and life. Its decorations made of cast iron, and its construction, radiating calm dignity and balance, raised it among the most beautiful industrial monuments in Europe. It became a symbol of advancement, national awakening, and the linkage between East and West.
Among the anecdotes relating to the bridge, the most popular is that the lions were sculpted without tongues and the sculptor was mocked so much that he jumped into the Danube in shame. The lions do have tongues (although they are not visible from below, which is the usual point of view, as the lions are lying on a stone block some three meters high). The sculptor lived into the 1890s, and the only message he sent to mocking people was "Your wife should have a tongue just as my lions have, and woe will be unto you!"
In 2001, Hungarian stunt pilot Peter Besenyei flew upside down under the bridge, a manoeuvre that became a standard in Red Bull air races today.
The bridge is featured in the 2002 movie I Spy.
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